Here's the backstory: I've found what I think is going to be my preferred restoration project. It's got a cracked windshield. I'm pretty confident I can find or retrofit any mechanical part that's missing or broken to make the ride functioning, but without a non-cracked windshield where I'm located, you don't pass a safety inspection, which means you don't get insurance and you're limited to driving up and down your own short driveway.

I've got feelers out at a few glass shops, and Toyota won't tell me if they can get me one unless I pre-pay and order it (WTH?).

Is this kind of thing an achilles heal for a restoration project? Should I just trust I'm going to find one someday?

MS50 series windshields are available in the US. If you went to a U.S. windshield specialist, they should be able to access the national database and find one for you. Not familiar with Canada, but maybe there is the same thing there too. They are on U.S. Ebay from time to time.

Surprisingly enough, I did not have to make too many calls to glass places to find a windshield for my MS75. Granted that was about a year ago and I still haven't bought the ONE they found, but they will likely be out there somewhere.

Good timing; I was just going to update this. It seems that whatever glass that is needed can be had for the right price. The standard distribution places turned out nil, but there's stock in Japan, for example.

I think the sweet solution would be an intact parts car, but driveway space is already at a premium. I just got back from central Washington this weekend with a slighlty wiper-marked but intact windshield for my Crown (and the Crown's not even here yet - arrives this week!)

The MS75 Coupe is probably one of my all time faves. The MS55 I've taken on kind of fell into my lap, and we need something a bit more utility, so it was a better fit, but I'd definitely expand the fleet with a fourth-generation Crown some day.